The Speed of Trust

Penulis
Stephen M. R. Covey
Rebbeca R. Merril

Penerbit
Free Press

Review
Examples such as the McLane acquisition, the Kelleher reorganization approval, and others I've shared in this chapter go a long way toward dispelling some of the debilitating myths that keep us from enjoying the dividends of high trust.

One myth, for example, is that trust is "soft" -- it's something that's nice to have, but you really can't define it, quantify it, measure it. As I hope you can tell by now, the exact opposite is true. Trust is hard. It's real. It's quantifiable. It's measurable. In every instance, it affects both speed and cost, and speed and cost can be measured and quantified. To change the level of trust in a relationship, on a team, or in an organization is to dramatically impact both time and money -- and quality and value, as well. Another myth is that trust is slow. While restoring trust may take time, both establishing and extending trust can be done quite fast, and, once established, trust makes the playing field exceptionally quick. You don't have to look far beyond these examples I've given or even the speed with which you communicate and get things done in your own relationships to see the reality that truly, nothing is as fast as the speed of trust.

Probably the most insidious myth of all is the one expressed by the senior leader of that investment bank I worked for briefly in New York City: "You either have trust or you don't, and there's nothing you can do about it."

You can do something about trust! For 20 years, I've been a business practitioner. I've been responsible for building and running organizations, for developing teams, for reporting to boards, getting results, and having to "hit the numbers." During many of those years, I've also done consulting work with dozens of well-known companies -- many of which had good strategies and good execution abilities, but fell short of being able to accomplish what they wanted to without being able to explain why. I have been a husband, a father, a member of a large extended family with many multifaceted relationships. I have served in community situations in which I have counseled individuals and families dealing with complex trust issues. And in all of my experience, I have never seen an exception to the basic premise of this book: Trust is something you can do something about -- and probably much faster than you think!

Once again, I affirm that nothing is as fast as the speed of trust. Nothing is as fulfilling as a relationship of trust. Nothing is as inspiring as an offering of trust. Nothing is as profitable as the economics of trust. Nothing has more influence than a reputation of trust.

Trust truly is the one thing that changes everything. And there has never been a more vital time for people to establish, restore, and extend trust at all levels than in today's new global society.

Whether you approach the opportunity and challenge of increasing trust in relation to your personal life, your professional life, or both, I can promise you, it will make an enormous difference in every dimension of your life.

Mind Set

Penulis
John Naisbitt

Penerbit
Collin, 2006

Review
In the tradition of Naisbitt’s reputation of forecasting the future, Mind Set! provides a visionary look at the global economic, political and cultural landscape that will dominate the next decades of the 21st century:
From Country Borders to Economic Borders; The EU’s two hearts and 27 Mindsets on a path of “Mutually Assured Decline”? Dealing with China where the Periphery is the Center; The reservoir of innovation our evolutionary era provides; New rules in Communication in the shift from word to visual.

But Mind Set! goes beyond that. John Naisbitt opens the door to what enables him to see the future: deliberately developed mindsets. The first part of the book is defining and exemplifying 11 Mindsets as tools to evaluate and select information and put together the pieces that will form new pictures of the future. It also shows the impact those mindsets can have in business, politics, government and personal life.

Why do your Mindsets make a difference?
Mindsets are the software that supervise our thinking. But while we are updating and upgrading the software in our computers, we neglect to update the software for the most complex computer there is, the computer in our heads. We have the choice: We can stick with the standard program – mindsets that are inculcated or driven by social coercion as we go through life – or we can deliberately develop mindsets. Mindsets that will enable us to navigate our thinking through the jungle of information to get a clear understanding of the present, the key to anticipate what the future holds.

Create new Mindsets
Part I of Mind Set! tells stories about the world’s greatest thinkers, shows examples of idols and rebels of today’s business world, and underscores the great impact mindsets have in business and live.
Each person will rank the mindsets in a different way -- different tasks demand different tools. For leaders: "Don't get so far ahead of the parade that people don't know you are in it," advises us to stay within the field of vision of those we want to lead. For entrepreneurs: “You don’t get results by solving problems, but by exploiting opportunities,” points out why most of the outstanding people are opportunity-seekers, and not problem-solvers. For those who want to anticipate the future: “Focus on the score of the game” is the platform to build on. “While many things change, most things remain constant” is a basic to start looking for the drivers of change that will shape the future.

Mindsets to identify Megatrends
Part II of Mind Set!, based on the 11 Mindsets of Part One, provides forecasts of what will shape the first half of the 21st century. It examines the forces that are driving the shift from “Nation Borders to Economic Borders.” The consequence is the need of a new index: Global Domains as the measure of performance and as a guide to judge and evaluate the standing of our own field of endeavor. Living in Europe since 2000, John Naisbitt describes the European Union as a statue with 2 hearts and 27 mindsets, each heart beating towards a different goal: to be a welfare paradise or the most dynamic knowledge driven economy of the world.

Mindset Part II offers a picture of China's neglected decentralization -- in China the Periphery is the center, and those centers are in furious competition for shares in the global markets. The chapter on a “Visual World” illustrates the demands of new ways of communication. And lastly, “The Evolutionary Era” reveals itself as a reservoir of innovation.

The world is never transforming as a whole, nor is everything changing. We need to distinguish between the paths that are reaching into the future and those which will just be a blip on the screen of the world. Part II is the frame, in which you can reconstruct the process of seeking, choosing and evaluating the pieces, which, connected in the right way, form your picture of the future.

Mind Set! will be published in 37 countries throughout 2007